Ibrox fans lose patience as Mowbray lays down a marker

The sight of demonstrating supporters at full-time on Saturday, at Ibrox and at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, may prove to be a significant and lasting eulogy to this victory for Hibernian and proof once again that Alex McLeish should not count on a long-term future at Rangers.

McLeish labelled this match a tale of two halves, when in fact it was a tale of two managers. The star of Tony Mowbray, a former Middlesbrough player and popular figure on Teesside, continues to rise rapidly and it will surely not be long before clubs in England attempt to lure the young Hibs manager south. With Steve McLaren's performance as Middlesbrough manager the subject of close scrutiny after a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa, his chairman, Steve Gibson, will surely be tempted to track the progress of the impressive Mowbray if he has not done so already.

Bookmakers were yesterday quoting odds of 2-1 on Hibs lifting the Scottish Cup for the first time in 104 years while their city rivals Hearts are firm favourites for the competition at 11-10 after demolishing Aberdeen at Tynecastle on Saturday. While the Edinburgh clubs are doing their bit to break the Old Firm's duopoly, the precarious nature of McLeish's support at Rangers is strikingly apparent.

Hundreds of fans gathered at the front door to Ibrox and many had headed home long before the final whistle, in renewed acts of revolt against the manager. One commonly held theory regarding Rangers' lack of transfer activity in the recent window is that the chairman, David Murray, is retaining funds for the summer, with a new manager already lined up to replace McLeish.

Mowbray's men had beaten Rangers on each of their previous two meetings this season and, after earning victory by virtue of a scoreline which ultimately flattered Rangers, the evidence of a west-to-east power shift in Scottish football looked more apparent than ever. This was a 90-minute horror show for McLeish and a spectacular end to a 10-game unbeaten run. "We've bounced back before and we'll need to do it again," he said. "Everyone has to dig deep."

Garry O'Connor headed the opening goal past Ronald Waterreus early in the second half before Ivan Sproule, who scored a hat-trick at Ibrox earlier in the season, doubled the visitors' lead when O'Connor flicked on a Derek Riordan pass. Chris Killen sealed the win for Hibs and sparked jubilant scenes among the 5,000-strong visiting support.